The present invention relates generally to animated toys, and more particularly to a toy including a Geneva mechanism providing for intermittent reciprocal motion of moveable parts of the toy.
In recent years animation in children""s toys has become very popular. Animated toys include a system for generating motion, typically driven by small rotating motors that connect to gears, pulleys or levers. Some animation systems for animated toys include a Geneva mechanism designed to produce an intermittent motion, such as those shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,764,141; 5,310,377; and 5,405,142, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to animated toys in which parts of the toy undergo intermittent reciprocal motion. This motion is driven by one or more motors, each interconnected to a skeletal structure of the toy through various gears, pulleys, and cables. At least one of the gears pulls on one of the cables to in turn pull on the portion of the skeletal structure that is to be moved, and that gear may cooperate with other gears to have an engaged position and one or more non-rotating positions, as may be found in a Geneva gear mechanism. When the gear is in the engaged position, a motor may rotate the gear to actuate a discrete motion of a part of the toy, and when the gear is in a non-rotating position, the gear may hold that part of the toy in a fixed position, even as other gears driven by the same motor actuate other motions within the toy. Combining a series of these gears, each producing different discrete motions, creates an animated toy capable of complex movements with a lesser number of motors.
This present invention will be more readily understood after a consideration of the drawings and the detailed description of the preferred embodiment.